Silent Moments
by Marie Writer
Summary: Charlie contemplates her feelings for Jason when he leaves, again. When she hears his voice in the distance, she follows it. Will she regret her decision to search him out or will it all be worth it in the end? Jason/Charlie - - Now complete
1. Chapter 1

_Where did Jason go? This is kinda... ANOTHER filler type thiiing. I just feel like, he disappeared and NOBODY either noticed or cared enough to say anything. At the very least Charlie should have said something... or caught him leaving and say something then..._

_not a lot of actual Jason and Charlie just fleeting thoughts and reactions between 2x14 and 2x15 and a little after._

_**PLEASE READ:**_

_I saw a preview while I was passing through the living room, my mom was watching The Voice and the promo came on with a scene between Charlie and Jason where he's in what looks like a hospital bed, Charlie is at his side and saying she thought she lost him and Jason gets all cute and they share a kiss... I hope beyond hope that Charlie isn't playing him for something... **crosses fingers. **Anyway the end has my HOPE is, it's not a prediction and it's not a spoiler... just an AU kinda deal-ish, thing. Does that make sense? I'm just trying something out. _

_Enjoy!_

X.x.X.x

Charlie stood at the table and looked at all the different lock boxes, with strange symbols on them she couldn't identify. "What is all of this?" She asked and looked at her uncle with question.

"Not good..." He said in a scratchy tone. Charlie looked between all the faces in the room as they began to talk but she stopped listening when she realized Jason wasn't with them. Slowly she turned and backed out of the room to go back outside where the gun fight had taken place. As she stepped around the bodies she brought her crossbow up, ready to fire at anything hostile but as she scanned the area with careful eyes she couldn't place any trace of Jason.

Charlie stopped in the middle of the dirt path and lowered her bow, _where did he go? _Her brows furrowed together she turned to go back inside just as everyone else was coming back out, "Is Jason in there...?" She asked Nora, stopping the older woman by grabbing her arm. Nora barely lifted her shoulders in a shrug and shook her head no, worrying Charlie that much more. The only person who really cared about where he was and his well being... was her.

The whole walk back she kept her eyes peeled, she even crashed into Miles back once or twice when they would stop and because she was distracted watching the treeline she would keep walking... right into him. "Sorry..." She mumbled, though still mildly disturbed with watching the area around them versus looking at Miles for too long during her feeble apology.

Back at the camp she made a few sets around the camp in an effort to locate him again, he still wasn't around. She even asked her mom and Aaron if either of them had seen him, still nothing. Finally she settled on the hood of a car and pondered where he was. If she had lost him _again _because of something stupid, even if it was just _him _being stupid...

"Charlie?" Rachel called as she walked up to her forlorn daughter.

The younger blond started at her voice, tearing her from her thoughts of never seeing Jason again... he was alone and could get captured or killed by bandits... or fall and can't get back up... all those scenarios were spinning through her head and they all dissipated like smoke when her mother called her name. "Yeah, mom... what?" Charlie muttered intelligently.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked and looked towards the empty road, "No one is out here..." In truth the reason was because the car she was sitting on was the very same one she was sitting on when she first saw Jason enter the camp with the second band of rebels. It was as a childish dream but she couldn't help but hope she would see him walking back up the trail like he had the first time.

"I just needed some time alone, okay?" Charlie shot out, her head snapping to face her mother. Rachel recoiled a bit and Charlie sighed, "Sorry, I'm just stressed out..." Charlie was never open about her relationship with Jason, not even to him, but she cared for him... more than she was even willing to admit.

Rachel nodded and took a step closer, "Charlie..." she paused and her daughter watched in worry as she warred with herself on how to word the next part of her sentence. "Charlie, Neville escaped." Rachel finally managed to get out, not only was she disappointed that she didn't get to kill the man herself but she knew that Charlie wasn't going to be laughing about it either. Only she did.

Smothering her laughs after seeing the horror on her mothers face she got serious, then angry, "Now it all makes sense." She seethed and jumped off the hood, "That's great... that is just great."

"Charlie?" Rachel asked concerned, raising her hand timidly to touch her daughters arm who only sidestepped her attempt at comfort.

Charlie turned and squared off to her mother sharply, "Thank you for," she swallowed and held up her head higher, "Thank you for telling me." She said and left promptly.

On her way to the holding cell Neville had been in she considered all the possibilities, that maybe Jason didn't help Neville escape but rather went to track him down when he realized his father was on the run. Or maybe, Neville overpowered Jason and took him hostage! She winced at the thought of Jason being at the angry hand of his father, she'd already seen what a father could do to his son... but now after what Jason did it would be even worse. She turned the corner and found it open, Nora stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, watching as they carried out a covered body. The tears in Nora's eyes told Charlie the dreadful truth, Neville killed Padre.

Charlie stood by Nora as she said her goodbyes though during the silence Charlie found it difficult not to think of Jason, _could he have really been a part of three mens death... for __Padre's__ death? _Maybe Jason didn't have any part in Neville's disappearance, rather something else happened. Maybe he got lost... or was captured by survivors of the gun fight. None of the premises she tried in her head were appealing, she prayed none of them were true but... the only good scenario she had was that he was taking a nap. "We should've killed him when we had the chance..." Nora cut through the silence with her dark realization. Charlie looked over at her and frowned; knowing she was right, that her mother had been right. Now Neville was free to tattle on them... and Jason was still missing.

X.x.X.x

Charlie gasped as she saw a young man on a horse, bleeding and barely conscious, ride into the camp. He bared resemblance to Jason, _oh, please don't be Jason! _She pleaded with him in her thoughts, running alongside Nora. Miles was already there with a medic, by the time Nora and Charlie got there... the rider was dead. Unable to get a good look at his face with all the different heads in her way she had to push between them, relieved when she found it wasn't him. When had she become so cold to another mans death? Seeing a man dead on the ground and she was _relieved? _What was wrong with her? She frowned and stood up, leaving the area to collect her bearings. Jason was still missing, now that she knew it wasn't him she almost wished it was. To at least know where he was... _but he would be dead if that man had been him! _She argued herself, _but at least I'd know... _"Four of our spies died getting this here..." Miles said gruffly, holding up the small slip of paper between his fingers. Charlie turned around and looked at the blood soaked parchment and frowned.

X.x.X.x

It had been days since Jason first vanished, days since Miles finally got his army he'd been looking for, with the help of Ma'dam President. Even still, Charlie knew that Miles still didn't think they stood a snowballs chance in hell but they had an ally now...two big armies against the Monroe Republic... it was hope.

Charlie sat on a log and watched from afar as Miles argued with Nora, over God knows what, she couldn't help but glare at him. She knew he had secrets but she just wished he'd have less... or at least include her in some things; like what, exactly, he did to Rachel.

Nora finally let out an aggravated shout and threw up her hands in defeat, "Do whatever you want Miles!" She yelled, before stalking back into the building. Charlie watched Miles but when he turned to look at her she snapped her head back to her sword and continued to clean it. When she looked back, he was gone.

She sighed and drew her lips into a thin line, things were falling apart and she didn't know how to fix it. All she wanted was to find her brother, she didn't want any of this rebels vs republic bull shit... and now her brother was dead, her mother left for a second time and her uncle was becoming more and more cold. It was times like this that she really missed Maggie, she felt awful for being so cold to her for so many years but now all she wanted was to have Maggie sit and listen to how terrible she was feeling and then give her some insightful advice on how to make things better or to at least feel more enlightened about the situation.

"Charlie, we're leaving." Miles announced as he walked up behind her. Charlie shot to her feet, "Now." he finished and tossed her her backpack.

"... what?" She asked and nodded her head with the word.

"You – me – leaving – now." Miles said in a halfway condescending tone.

"For... wh-"

"Charlie!"

"_Okay_!" She shouted and sheathed her sword and slung her bow around her shoulder and followed behind him. A couple minutes after they were on the road, walking rather briskly, Charlie broke the awkward silence. "Where are we going..." She asked quietly, her eyes wide but her head bowed. She was trying to look as innocent as she could to butter him up.

No reply.

"We're going to go back after wards, right?"

No reply.

Miles simply stared straight ahead; not even paying attention to his surroundings, not calculating anything, just walking and staring. "Miles,"

"Charlie?" The young woman paused and looked up at him to her left, "Shut up" He shook his head incredulously as the words left his mouth.

She shifted her shoulders and frowned but did as she was told... for now.

X.x.X.x

_W__here do you think Miles is taking Charlie...? _

_Discuss..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Enjoy!_

X.x.X.x

"You still haven't told me where we're going..." Charlie reminded, they'd been walking for awhile now and she was getting bored and concerned. Not that she didn't enjoy the scenary, the road they were one was cracked and falling apart like every other road but the trees on either side of it formed a canopy of different shades of green, with a hue of orange sun shining between the spaces in between leaves and tree branches. It was beautiful but it was the same thing all the way down. It was still boring.

Miles let out a frustrated sigh as he ran his hand down his face, "Charlie... we're just going out on a run for supplies..."

"And that's why Nora got mad at you?" She questioned, not believing him.

Growing more and more irritated Miles shook his head, "That was something else... that had to do with the republic."

"Right," She tossed her head a bit and continued to walk. She couldn't tell if he was getting more and more secretive or if she was just beginning to take it personally.

They fell back into uncomfortable silence and continued to walk when a gunshot rang through the air, bringing them both down to the ground and reaching for their sidearms. When nobody stepped out into the road and there were no further gunshots they both slowly stood and looked around. Charlie felt her eye twitch with anticipation, she faced death on more than one occasion but she still wasn't used to it.

Another shot followed by men shouting back and forth.

"Probably nothing..." Miles shrugged, not wanting to be bother by someone elses' problem. "Bandits or a domestic dispute."

Charlie didn't hear her uncle but was instead focusing on the voices of the men. "No..." She finally said when one of the voices clicked in her head. "No, that's Jason!" She ran off in the direction of the fight, pushing through the trees to the right and running out of Miles' reach to stop her.

"_I know you know where he is!"_

"_Look, man! I don't!"_

"_He tells you everything!"_

"_Not this!"_

She followed the shouting, letting it guide her through the maze of brush and thick tree trunks. It was a deep wooded area but the shouts were crystal clear and she was more than capable of tracking the sound down to it's source. "_please! I have a family!" _Finally she could see the edge of the woods, where a dirt road led into a clearing, to a blown out bridge.

Stopping just outside the treeline she looked at the situation, Jason was practically holding a Republic soldier over the edge of the bridge, the soldiers feet were barely able to stay flatfooted on the last foot of ground available to him. Her eyes were wide as she waited for what was to come next.

She could hardly see the full profile of Jason's face but had a clear view of how scared the other guy was, the soldier was clinging to Jason's forearms while the man she had come to realize she had genuine feelings for held him out at a distance, only holding onto the mans flap jacket. _"Look, Monroe _killed _the Captain over your father's betrayal! If I knew something about it, or even looked like I would know something about it... Monroe would have me killed too!"_

A branch snapped behind her and she spun around and jabbed her knife behind her which Miles caught and held her wrist until she relaxed and put the knife back in her boot. Miles nodded behind her, to Jason and the soldier again, and they both turned back around to watch. Jason paused and the man continued, _"please, I swear I don't know anything." _Seconds ticked by slowly before Jason finally pulled the soldier back onto solid ground, beside him, both men somewhat tense but not up for further confrontation they just stared at one another, face to face. Before Charlie could move to confront Jason a horse drawn wagon filled with soldiers pulled up to aid the man who had appeared to be threatened. All together the soldiers jumped out of the wagon with their guns raised.

With wide eyes and her lips parted to called his name, Charlie looked between the soldiers and Jason... _Jason... run!_

Jason took a step back and looked straight ahead to his man opponents, he already looked like he was defeated but Charlie knew him better than to accept defeat. The soldiers took proper aim as the commanding officer made demands of Jason who was already calculating his next more, she could tell even from so far away. _"If you won't surrender..." _The CO said dismissively and rose his hand in the air as a mark.

Charlie gasped and stepped forward but Miles grabbed her arms and held her back her hair bounced around as she fought his grip, rolling her shoulders and using her legs to push away from him, it was futile but she couldn't watch as the militia put Jason down like a dog. Eventually Miles got a good hold on her, pulling her against his chest and crossing her arms around her body so she couldn't fight anymore. With wide eyes and hair falling in her face from her head jerking she grimaced as they opened fire but not before Jason grabbed the soldier he had been questioning and used his body to shield his own. The two Matheson's watched as the soldier was riddled with bullets while Jason jumped off the edge of the bridge, under the cover of the human shield and into the river below.

"No!" Charlie gasped but her mouth was quickly covered by Miles hand, she continued to jerk against him, hoping to get free and run to the bridge. Miles lowered both of them to the ground, so that he was kneeling in the grass behind the cover of the trees with her back against his chest while he kept his right hand over her mouth. Despite his efforts to keep her still she continued to move against him, her hands pulled on his forearm in a ineffectual effort to get away. Eventually, as the soldiers loaded up the dead body of their fallen comrad and turned their wagon around to leave, she stopped fighting though her body still shook with anxiety. They remained in that position until they could no longer hear the horses or wagons depart.

Once she was released she bolted out of the trees like a race horse out of the gates and ran to the edge of the bridge, feeling a sense of hopelessness at how far down it was to the surface of the river. "No... _No!_" She ran her hand through her hair and stopped at the top of her head, holding what hair she had in her fist there. Miles came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder which she shrugged off and turned away from the edge and went to scale the side to get to the bank of the river.

"Charlie! You can't just free climb that rock face!" He ran after her, grabbed her, and turned her to face him. "There's got to be an easier way..._" _

Charlie rose an eyebrow and curled her lip, "You don't know _what _I'm capable of. I can do this!"

"No, you can't."

"The next fastest way is to jump down the same way he did!" She tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes, daring him to deny her again. _He's DYING down there, he could be shot... or drowning. Stop staring at Miles and DO something! _Her brain was going wild with all the different possibilities of Jason's current state but she just stood there, staring down her uncle. When Miles didn't reply Charlie shook his grip and glowered at him, "Fine..." She began to walk away and he sighed, running a hand down his face.

"Look, we can find ano-" he started to turn back to face her retreating form just in time to see her start to run towards the edge of the bridge, "_Charlie no!_" He sprinted after her barely catching her wrist and yanking her back in time - he tossed her onto where the cement bridge met the dirt road. She gasped and he flinched, squinting his eyes and shifting awkwardly, when he saw the scratches in her palms and ripped jeans. He hated hurting her but it was a sacrifice to be made if he was to keep her from jumping off. Charlie looked up at him with pained eyes, a look that told him she felt a stab of betrayal of one sort of another. Shaking the gut wrenching feeling in his stomach he opened his mouth,"Stay. _Here._" he pointed at the spot she was currently in before jumping off the edge into the river below.

X.x.X.x

Charlie gaped at the spot she last saw her uncle in, unable to believe he had just jumped off the bridge, unable to believe _she _almost jumped off that bridge. Despite the pain in her hands from the rocks embedded in her skin, she crawled to the edge and looked over the edge of the bridge, still able to see the ripples from where her uncle had landed.

Standing up she kept her eyes on the river for a moment longer, waiting to see him surface but he didn't. "Oh, no... no no no no no..." She spun around and ran down the edge of the grass to the right until she found a more gentle slope down to the bank and basically slid down the muddy hill, why hadn't she just found this in the first place. After she got to the bank she back tracked back towards the bridge, treading into the water to her knees she called out their names, hoping that someone would answer her.

Nothing, not a sound.

"Miles! Jason?!"

"Charlie, over here" Miles voice called. She searched both sides of the river before finally catching Miles waving his arm at her from across the way, down a few yards to the left of the bridge. She could make out two figures right outside the treeline on the sandy bank, one kneeling on the sandy one laying down.

"Miles..." She breathed and dove into the river from where she stood, knee deep. Once on the other side her limbs felt like rubber but she managed to stay on her feet and run in his direction, stumbling to a stop at Jason's feet. The young man, was quiet, motionless, and he had blood staining his shirt which she prayed had been blood spatter from the soldier he hid behind. She knelt down and stared at the wound before finally looking at his face he seemed so still... why was he so quiet?! "Miles... is he...?"

There was a hesitation that made Charlie uncomfortable, like there was something he wasn't telling her. "No, he's alive but he caught a bullet in the side."

Charlie felt her face go numb, "What do we do?" She asked quietly, tucking her blond hair behind her ear.

"We need to elevate his feet and then go get help." He looked her right in the eye, "Can you do that?"

Charlie stared at Jason's face... he was so still... why was he so still?

"Charlie!" Miles snapped his fingers in her face, "I need you to keep it together, huh?" Charlie looked up at him but her eyes were glossy, she wasn't understanding what he was saying, she was going into shock. The same way she had when Danny was shot, she had one frame of mind and couldn't get out until someone snapped her out of it. Last time Rachel had tried but it wasn't until Miles gave her a talking to that she came out of it... he'd have to do it again. "Charlie..." He said softly, his hands were still busied with putting pressure on Jason's wound. "You need to focus, Jason needs you. Okay?"

She nodded, a little color coming back to her face as she came around. "Okay..."

"Go," he ordered a little harsher than he intended but it worked well, she jumped to her feet and ran further into the woods behind them coming back with a large fallen branch behind her, it would be high enough to elevate his feet. Once the branch was placed in a strategic place for his feet to go, Charlie pulled off her jacket and bunched it up and placed it on top of the branch providing a higher elevation and also comfort.

After she finished she went to Jason's head and studied his face, he looked peaceful, if she didn't know better she would assume he was just sleeping after a long day. "He'll be okay, right?" She asked, not looking to the person he question was intended for.

There was no reply but she know what that really meant, Miles was a realist but he never liked to point out to her unless he was angry at her. Suddenly he grabbed her hands with his blood slick ones, "Keep the pressure here." He placed her hands into the wounded area and forced her to press down hard. "Come over on this side." He ordered and didn't pull his hands away from hers, making sure she kept her hands in place as she stepped over Jason's torso. "Do not move from this spot unless you absolutely have to," He ordered, " but if it comes to it... do not hesitate to leave Jason to save your own skin..."

Charlies mouth opened to protest, "Jason would tell you to do the same thing if it was me..."

"You two hate each other, of course you would!" Charlie snapped. Miles couldn't help but smile just a little at her accusation.

"I don't _hate _him, Charlie. I just don't _trust _ him." Miles corrected, "There's a difference." Charlie squinted her eyes at him but then looked away, staring at Jason's face again. "I'll be back soon, hopefully before nightfall." Charlie didn't look up at him again, "What did I just say Charlie?"

"You'll be back before nightfall."

"What else?" He asked as he stood and took a step back, closer to the river. Charlie finally looked up at him with a questioned look, "To not move from this spot unless..."

"Unless I have to."

"Good, I'll be back as soon as I can..." With that he waded into the water and swam back to the other side and took her path to the slope she came down on.

X.x.X.x

Charlie never pulled her hands away, pressing into the wound as hard as she could without turning her arms into feeling like rubber from being too tense. She stared at his face for what felt like hours, finally gathering up the courage to try and wake him. "Jason..." She whispered and shook him a little. When she got no response she felt like pouting but instead continued, her brows furrowed with worry and frustration. "Jason..." She called louder, "Jason, please wake up. Look at me, Jason."

Giving up she slumped her shoulders and watched his chest rise and fall with each deep breath. She had spent the last week worrying over his well-being, where he could possibly be... if he had betrayed them, if he had run away, was captured, died... and now she finally found him and she couldn't even talk to him about all her fears, then realizing she actually could she began.

"You know you're an asshole right?" She began, bringing her lips into a fine line as she did. She shifted by his side as she brought her legs out from under her bottom and crossed them Indian Style, never taking her hands from his side. "You... you _left _without so much as a wave or a note saying 'bye'. Even _that _would have been nice but no. No, instead you just walked away and got yourself shot." Her voice was bitter but she had tears already forming in her eyes. "You must be stupid... or just incredibly brave... I'll go with incredibly stupid." The blond sniffled. The wind blew a strong gust through the trees and around her, blowing her hair from behind her ears and framed her face.

Huffing she looked up into the trees and watched as they swayed with each new gust of wind, the area was serene really. With the sound of the water, the wind in the trees and the sound of nature playing around them. It was beautiful. Charlie closed her eyes and listened to the different sounds all around her, allowing them to calm her senses. "I just want you to be okay..." She said aloud. "Even with all the insanity constantly going on between us, the world trying to keep us apart, I feel drawn to you... I feel _connected _with you..." She sighed and finally opened her eyes to look at him again, his eyes still closed, much to her disappointment.

"You weren't supposed to protect me... but you've-" Her voice cracked so she paused until she knew she could continue, "-you've always been there for me, had my back. You saved my life more times than I can actually remember and I kept pushing you away and... and leaving you behind." She drew in a long breath, "I'm sorry... please don't go away again. Just stay with us... stay with _me..."_

It was nearly dusk and the temperature had dropped down to about 40 degrees with a chilling wind coming off the surface of the water, to keep both of them warm she had removed her leather jacket from under his feet and covered his torso with it. Then moved around behind Jason and pulled him further into the woods, the sun was setting behind the woods so there was no point in staying out in the open to "get some sunlight", so that she could rest her back against a tree while bringing his upper half into her lap so that they shared body heat. After they were settled better she relocated his wound and reapplied pressure on it.

When she had moved them she had noticed his wound had stopped pulsing blood and had been a slow ooze, allowing her the time away from putting force on it. As she began to tremble with the cold she prayed she hadn't made a mistake by moving him, and only hoped that she had made the right choice for both of them. The only reason she was second guessing was because she knew that if the bullet was still in there, or if she angered the wound too much it could put him into critical condition... if she messed up, her mistake could _kill _him. How would she live with herself is she _killed _the man she was falling in love with?

Another hour and it was nightfall, she knew she needed to stay awake but she was tired, cold and hungry... all she wanted to do was sleep the rest of the time until Miles came for them but she couldn't... she needed to stay awake... _Stay awake... stay awake... Stay. Awake._

X.x.X.x

It had only been 3 hours since he left Charlie and Jason back at the river, how had it already become dark?! He promised her "before nightfall", he hadn't realized it was already past 5 when he left. It took an hour to get back to camp, a little under 30 minutes to get the proper supplies, people, and wagons to get them, an hour to get back to the general area... and now he was lost. Where was the bridge, how did _Miles Matheson _forget where he left the _only_ family he had left?

X.x.X.x

_This ended up being a LOT longer than what I intended, so long that I needed to stop and end the chapter... and wait to make the third. The story was supposed to be TWO chapters and now it's three. Lucky you! Hopefully this was a little better than the first chap, I know it was slow! _

_Hope you enjoyed it!_


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm searching for a beta, I think... if anyone would like to be such for me, send me a PM and let me know! _

_Had a bit of a (really) hard time writing this chapter, hope it turned out okay..._

_Enjoy!_

X.x.X.x

"Charlie..." Miles knelt down beside Charlie, a frown etched deep in his features. The young woman was pulled up against a tree, her head was resting on her left shoulder and her arms were pushed under her brown leather jacket which she had draped over Jason's chest. Jason himself was pulled up between her legs with his back against her chest and his head resting on her right shoulder. Both young adults were unconscious but they were both still breathing, so he took what he could with a grain of salt. "Charlie, wake up..." He said softly, bringing her head up so it was upright and brushed her matted hair out of her face.

She took in a deep breath and let it out with a soft sigh of what seemed like relief as she pressed her cheek into his hand for warmth. "Mmmm,"

"That's it Charlie, wake up..."

"Miles," she started. "It's so cold." Charlie shivered and frowned with her statement.

After a moment of hesitation Miles' head snapped to his left, where the rest of the group stood by the edge of the river with blankets, "Give me some blankets here!" He ordered impatiently, why were they just standing there?! As soon as he shouted at them though, they jumped into action, doing what they were trained without second thought.

Miles took Charlie's hands away from Jason's wound, flinching when it took more effort than it should have due to the dried blood sticking her hand to the flannel shirt Jason was wearing, so that the medics could get to work at stabilizing Jason. However, when they moved to pull Jason away from Charlie the young woman became agitated; clinging onto his shirt and refusing to let anyone take him.

Grabbing her forearms, Miles held her down so that she would be forced to release Jason's shirt and the medics could take him away to patch him up well enough for the trip back to camp. "Charlie, stop! You have to let us do this," Charlie looked at Miles, almost through him "let us help Jason." He added and she nodded her okay. Carefully they pulled Jason out of her lap and started to cut away his shirt to tend to his injury. ~While most people were focusing their abilities to help Jason, few came over to look Charlie over, only finding a few minor lesions on her hands and knees and a small bump on her head.~ "Everything's going to be okay now, Charlie..." he soothed and held a canteen to her lips, his other hand cupped under her chin to both tilt her head up and catch any water that dribbled.

Charlie blinked a few times, before finally coming out of her trance. "Wh-what took you so," She paused to swallow, "long?"

Miles paused, unsure of how to answer, that he got lost in the dark? He stalled by grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders then clinching it in the front, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "I'm sorry," was all he could muster before gripping her arms and helping her to her feet.

"Ah, ah..." Charlie flinched but moved up with him however stiffly, stretching her legs a bit once she was standing.

"Are you hurt?" Concern laced his voice as he looked her up and down.

"Nah," She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Just sore..." She admitted and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Alright," he said gruffly as he put his arm around her waist. "Let's get you out of here."

As they passed Jason's prone form, Charlie couldn't take her eyes away, "I want to stay with him."

"You'll see him when we get back."

"But-"

"No buts, Charlie..." He said, somewhat impatiently.

Charlie kept her gaze on Jason but didn't argue further, instead just followed Miles lead as he guided her sore body around the trees and across the river as best he could.

X.x.X.x

Charlie sat at Jason's bedside, both of her hands holding his. He looked much better now; he had color back in his face, he was warm, and he appeared peaceful, even in his sleep. The doctor had said that Jason was rather lucky, the bullet was easy to remove and did minimal damage since it had only caught his side. In addition he only walked a way with a minor concussion and some bruised ribs, which was most likely from Miles performing CPR.

She had had no idea that Miles literally saved his life by jumping in after him, Jason would have drowned otherwise.

"Charlie," Jason rasped, his dark eyes barely opened to see her. Charlie sat up straighter and flashed him her most brilliant smile.

Squeezing his hand just a little bit she replied, "Hey, it's good to see you awake..."

"Barely..." He mumbled and coughed. "Is there any water?" Charlie nodded but realized he had already re-closed his eyes so she uttered a single, 'yes'.

"Here," She held the glass to his lips in a similar manner that Miles had done with her back in the woods. "Slowly..." When he finished he let his head fall back against the pillow with a sigh of relief. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"Like I was shot then jumped off a bridge into a river," He replied with a smirk on his face.

Despite feeling a pang of regret, for letting him go off alone, she smiled. "So, great...?"

Jason opened his eyes to look at her again and smiled, "Yeah, I feel great." They fell into comfortable silence and Jason wondered silently if Charlie realized that she was rubbing her thumbs in small circles on his hand or if it was just subconsciously. Either way, he enjoyed the feeling. "Where are we?" He finally asked, looking around the room, it appeared to be a clinic's room, it was somewhat clean and he was in a clean bed, the sun cast a warm orange glow throughout the room. He felt safe, safer than he'd felt in a long time.

"Atlanta." She replied and looked around the room herself while she answered. She was sitting on his right side, both her hands and his were resting in her lap.

"How did you find me?" He asked, turning his hand to catch hers and intertwining their fingers. His voice was still rough, she imagined it was from sucking in river water, then having it forced out. Possibly even a sign he was sick from being out in the cold for so long, he was extremely lucky he hadn't caught pneumonia.

"I almost didn't, it was just a lucky walk to get some food and I heard you shouting."

"So you saw..."

"Yeah... but it's good that I did... otherwise." She lowered her gaze, unable to think of such a terrible mental image. To think that he could have died and she'd never know it, for him to be drifting in a river for the rest of time. Tears sprang to her eyes despite her efforts to keep them at bay, one slipped over and slid down her cheek. "Otherwise I'd never see you again..." She choked and he frowned.

Sitting up he started to say something but she cut him off, "I thought I'd lost you, back there..." Her grip on his hand tightened as she tried to anchor her emotions. Gently, Jason brought his left hand up and cupped the side of her face.

"But you didn't..." He couldn't remember much of what happened after her hit the water, just that he couldn't tell which way was up... it was cold and dark. He remembered feeling a sense of panic, even when he felt a hand grab his wrist under water. After that it was all a blank aside from hearing voices beside him, likely Charlie and Miles. "I'm still here..." He leaned in a bit further while she bent her head to meet his.

When their lips finally touched they both relaxed, feeling a sense of euphoria wash over them. Charlie released his hand, placing her right on his chest and her left on his bicep, massaging only slightly. Once his hand had been released, Jason placed his other hand on her hip, and deepened the kiss. After they had pulled away they still remained close, teasing one another with soft kisses and nose bumps.

Charlie wanted to be angry at him for leaving without such as a word about where or why, she wanted to be angry that he nearly got himself killed, but the fact he was alive and shared her feelings for him equally was enough to quiet those angry thoughts. "Please don't leave me again..." She repeated a part of what she'd said in the woods.

Jason couldn't help but smile, despite that he knew how fragile she was by opening up like this. "Charlie," He pressed his forehead to hers, feeling her breath tickling his face, he continued. "Charlie, I will never leave you again, nor will I let you leave." Charlie's breath hitched as she listened to him, "What we're a part of is dangerous... but as long as we're together..." He paused and closed his eyes though kept their contact, "We're a team Charlie, together we can survive this... all of it." He pulled away then, bringing both hands to her face, so he could get a good look at her. His gaze was intense but not intimidating, she needed to know he was serious.

A single tear slipped down Charlie's cheek, this time it was caught by Jason as he used his thumb to catch it and wipe it away. After all they'd been through, after all the pain, the names, the fights... somehow they'd managed to become part of one another... a team. _"Everyone leaves me"_ She remembered saying when Maggie died, since then those words became even more true. She'd finally found her brother and her mother and within days she'd lost them both again.

"Promise...?" She finally asked, she knew how vulnerable she sounded but she was nearly alone now. Miles had become even more distant than when they first met, Nora was... well... she wasn't sure and Aaron had left with her mom. She was on her own, she needed someone to be by her.

Jason smiled only briefly before he pressed his mouth to hers again, "I promise," he said against her lips.

"Thank you..." She whispered and kissed him gently. Again, they fell into silence while Jason fell back into the pillows. Simply enjoying one another, both of them safe. When Jason's eyes started to get heavy and his breathing evened out Charlie smiled, "You should get some sleep..."

Jason closed his eyes and pushed into her hand further when she placed it on the side of his face. "Stay with me," He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Jason... you need your rest..." She hesitated, only slightly.

He cracked his eye open and gave her a partial glare, he was feeling tired, too weak to actual argue with her... though he would never make her stay if she didn't want to. "Please? I swear I'll go right to sleep..." He smirked at her and tugged on her arm.

Charlie, closed her eyes and shook her head though her smile gave her away. "Okay... just until you fall asleep."

Jason scootched over to make room in the narrow hospital bed as she laid down beside him. Jason wrapped his right arm around her shoulders while Charlie laid on her side, her arm draped over his stomach where Jason's hand met hers and again they intertwined their fingers. With her head on his shoulder she moved her head up only a fraction to look at his face, watching as he drifted off to sleep.

He looked peaceful, which put her at ease but he still looked ragged around the edges; dark circles around his eyes, bruises on his face from where, she was certain, he had bumped along the bottom of the river, and his breath was still strained. Still, he was alive, he was with her, and they were going to survive. As long as none of that changed, she was happy.

X.x.X.x

Nora stepped into the room, her mouth open to greet the two, but froze at the sight of them both sleeping in each others arms. She'd, personally, never seen Charlie so comfortable. Slowly, Nora backed out of the room and closed the door as quietly as she could behind her. "Hey," Miles started, trying to get past her to get into the room.

"Miles, wait..." Miles ignored her and opened the door with the same intention as Nora but stopped just the same. "Just let them sleep..." She insisted, pulling on his arm to come back into the hall. However, Miles wasn't so ready to watch his "innocent" Charlie become and adult. It was hard enough to watch her turn against her morals she started off with, but now she was falling in love? What was next? "Miles..." Nora asserted and pulled harder on his arm.

Barely looking over his shoulder he nodded at her before backing up into the hall with Nora, "When did that happen?!" He whispered harshly.

"Sometime between the train incident and now, I'm assuming." Miles was so blind to some things. "Likely even longer."

He shook his head, irritated. "Swear to God..."

"I know, Miles..." She nodded though there was a small smirk on her face, "but she's an adult now... she can handle herself."

Miles went to reply but instead just mumbled and huffed like a bitter old man he was destined to become. Turning he looked through the small rectangular window, watching Charlie cuddle closer to Jason which in turn the young man turned his head and kissed her brown unconsciously. Miles scowled and growled deep in his chest but stopped when he watched the smile on Charlie's face. He'd have a talk with boy band in the morning, that was for sure.

X.x.X.x

"Miles," Charlie greeted as she walked up behind him.

Currently, Miles was 'talking' with another 'authority' that had been designated by Ma'dam President, which he didn't mind being interrupted from. "What is it, Charlie." He turned to face her, she was walking swiftly so her hair bounced around her shoulders... it was her determined walk.

"I need to talk to you about what happened on the bridge." She replied, coming to a stop in front of him.

He rolled his shoulders a bit and craned his neck before he nodded, "Okay, what about it?" He asked gruffly.

Her left eye twitched as she looked up at him, head tilted slightly to the right side. "I wanted to thank you... for," She paused, searching for words and squinted her eyes. "-for saving Jason. He would have died if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah, well... if I hadn't done it, would've lost ya both." He squinted his eyes as well, though diverted his gaze.

Charlie shifted awkwardly before dropping what was on her mind, "Well, thanks."

She turned and started walking back the way she'd came, her pace more comfortable this time, and Miles made a face. "Sir, the troops..." The man tried to get Miles back on track with their previous discussion.

"Yeah, yeah..." He turned and continued the debate, though his mind was still on Charlie and just how much she'd changed from the desperate sister wanting to find her brother to the soldier she was today. Despite his lack of trust in Jason at the moment, he had a feeling that he'd keep her on the right track. The two of them anchored one another, they'd be okay as long as they were together... however long that was.

X.x.X.x

_Ending, sucked. _

_And I had a really hard time keeping my time line straight... kept trying to integrate last episode into this, with Neville and the "Jason/Charlie/Nora mutiny" on the boat...aaaaand I couldn't. Next week looks INSANE, and I'm super excited to see Jason and Charlie have their moment. _

_Anyway, let me know if I made any time line mistakes or you have a better ending... I was just blank the whole time I wrote this... so. PLEASE lemme know..._


End file.
